


Those Friends

by pinecovewoods



Category: Newsies (1992), Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Mutual Pining, brief description of wounds but nothing too graphic, the delancey's are assholes shocker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-10
Updated: 2018-12-10
Packaged: 2019-09-15 19:51:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16939620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinecovewoods/pseuds/pinecovewoods
Summary: "No I mean," she smiles a little and shakes her head, but doesn't move from her spot on his lap, "are we those friends now?"





	Those Friends

The pounding on her front door practically shakes the walls of the apartment. She throws a flannel on, looking through the peep hole to see who could be at her door after midnight. 

"Oh my god," she breathes, opening the door quickly, "Jack, what the hell?"

The boy looks up at her, the dried blood under his nose and blooming black eye prominent as she pulls him inside.

"'M sorry," he mumbles, "I know it's late, I shouldn't be here, I'm sorry."

"Shh shh," she shakes her head, leading him into the bathroom, "s'okay, I'm glad you're here. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, for the most part," Jack says, gaze resting on his bloody knuckles, "you should see the other guy."

"What am I gonna do with you?" 

Jack lets out a slight laugh, grimacing a bit as he slides himself up onto the counter next to the sink.

She wets a wash cloth, pressing it against his hand, "who was it this time?"

"Oscar 'n Morris," Jack says, not missing the way she sighs, "cornered me in an alley after I left Racer's."

"Both of them?"

"Are they ever apart?"

She sighs again, tilting Jack's head up to look at the dark bruise. 

"Oh Jack," her voice drops a bit, and there was something more than just worry in her eyes.

"I'm okay, I promise," Jack whispers, taking her hand away from his face and into his own, "I just wanted to see you."

"I'll get you some ice, and some bandages for your hand," she says, "you've had a rough day, wanna stay over? Watch a movie or something?"

"Yeah, I'd love that," Jack smiles, regardless of the pain that shoots through his jaw, "what should we watch?"

"Whatever," Y/N says, hand on his unharmed cheek for a longer than she intended, "you've had a bad day, you choose."

"Mamma Mia?" Jack asks with a blush, glancing down at his bruised hand instead of looking at her.

"Sounds like a plan," she smiles, petting his hair once before walking out of the bathroom.

Jack follows her, pressing the ice against his bruise after she hands it to him.

"I know it's late," he murmurs, "if you wanna just sleep I can go."

"You, walking home in that state?" She shakes her head, placing a popcorn bag in the microwave. "What kind of best friend would I be if I let you do that?"

Jack smiles.

"I just mean, I know you got class and stuff tomorrow," he shrugs, trying his best not to wince at the pain that shoots through his shoulder, "don't wanna be a burden."

She takes the few steps over to him, shaking her head again as she rests her hand on his cheek, slightly rubbing his cheekbone as she looks at him.

"You're never a burden, Jack Kelly," she whispers, "a pain in the ass sometimes, yes," she laughs a bit, so does he, "but never a burden. Okay?"

"Okay," Jack's lips twitch into a slight grin, and his face feels cold when she takes away her hand, "c'mon, this movie ain't gonna watch itself."

It's near three a.m. when they finish the film, Jack's good arm slung over the back of the couch and his fingers brushing her shoulder whenever she moves. 

"You should be asleep," Jack whispers during a lull in the conversation, "I don't want to be the reason you miss class."

"To hell with class," the girl rolls her eyes, "if I put school in front of caring for my best friend what kind of person does that make me?"

Jack smiles.

"Fine, but don't tell Davey. Anytime anyone misses class he has a heart attack."

Y/N laughs, and nods. 

"I won't tell if you don't."

Her eyes land on the bandages wrapped around Jack's hand, and her smile drops a bit.

"Tell me what happened," she whispers, taking his hand in both of hers gently.

"Was leaving Racer's," Jack says quietly, "Oscar pulled me into an alley and started beating on me. By the time I got the best of him Morris came outta nowhere with a baseball bat. Said if I didn't let Oscar keep going he would..."

Jack trails off, and Y/N swears she can see tears welling up in his eyes.

"He would what?" She asks gently, trying to find his gaze. 

"He would come after you," Jack finally says, looking at her intensely, "said he would do worse to you if I didn't let Oscar keep at me. So I did."

"What are you talking about?" She asks. "Why the hell would the Delancey's use me to get at you? That doesn't make any sense."

Jack continues to stare at her, eyes wide as if expecting her to understand. When a few moments of silence pass without a word from either of them, he breaks.

He presses his lips to hers, ignoring the pain both in his hand and his aching jaw, focusing instead on the feeling of kissing her. 

And then he feels her kiss him back, hands gripping his shirt. Jack pulls her onto his lap, leaning back against the arm of the couch as he kisses her. He moves his uninjured hand to hold the back of her neck, unable to keep from grinning into the kiss.

"Jackie," she breathes, and Jack feels his stomach flip.

He kisses her again, and she responds the same way. After a few moments, she pulls back. Jack focuses his energy on holding in the groan that wants to spill from his lips at the sight of her kiss swollen lips.

"What are we doing?" She asks in a whisper, and Jack feels his mouth run dry.

"Well I uh," he tries to find his words, "I call that kissing, dunno what word you use though."

"No I mean," she smiles a little and shakes her head, but doesn't move from her spot on his lap, "are we _those_ friends now?"

"Depends on what you mean by 'those friends'," Jack says, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, "if you mean that I'm the kind of friend who is crushing on his best friend and let two idiots kick the crap out of him in an alley way so they don't come after her, then yeah, I guess we are those friends."

"I meant are we those friends that kiss but don't date," she says, mouth hanging open, "you let...Jack..."

The boy shrugs, looking down at where she sits.

"I don't want us to be those friends," he whispers, "the ones that kiss but don't date. I...I wanna date you, I wanna spend the rest of my life with you. I know I love you platonically, I always have, but I think a while ago that evolved into romantic love."

The girl doesn't respond with words, she just leans in and kisses him again, thumb stroking his cheekbone. Jack takes this response as a good sign, and threads his fingers through her hair.

"Why did you come here? Why not go back to Race? Or Mush, he's closer to Race's than I am, and he's pre-med."

"I wanted to make sure Morris kept his word," Jack replies quietly, "that he wouldn't come after you. And no offense to Mush, but no amount of medicine can make me feel better as quickly as you can."

Y/N smiles, a blush spreading across her cheeks as she ducks her head. Jack brings her hand up to his mouth and kisses her knuckles, smiling at her embarrassment.

"So, what type of friends are we now?"

She looks back at him, and feels her heart skip a beat at the sight of the bruised boy. The boy who let himself get hurt just to protect her, the boy who walked halfway across town just to see her after getting beat up, the boy who had somehow work his way into her heart in more than just friendship.

"I'd say that we're those friends who gross everyone out by dating each other," she replies, "after all, how can I say no to my knight in shinning armor?"

Jack smiles, and kisses her again. He pulls away only to plant a gentle kiss to her forehead, and then intertwines their fingers.

"I think I can handle being those friends."


End file.
